Monthly Archives: March 2015

Andrew and I have decided to enter the Driven By Adventure contest through Trek Bicycles! This contest is going to give away 3 all expenses paid bike touring trips and the bikes needed to go on those trips. The trips are:

520: 2x Trek 520 bikes and a classic bike tour from Portland to the Oregon coast

The contest entry was pretty involved. The first step was to choose a travel partner – this was the obvious part! We had to submit 5 photos, 2 written prompts, and a video lasting less than 2 minutes. The photos were supposed to give an idea of our experience, style of adventure, and why we should win. The written prompts asked us to describe our most memorable adventure, and tell why we should win. The video was supposed to define our relationship, give a sense of our style of adventure, and help the judges understand why we deserve to win.

We put a LOT of work into the contest entry!

Our most memorable adventure was easy – our hike at Grandfather Mountain in July 2013. That hike had temperature fluctuations of 30 degrees, a nasty thunderstorm that wasn’t in the forecast, and the treacherous terrain that Grandfather Mountain is known for! When asked to explain why we should win, we talked about our passion for adventure, and helping other people experience the outdoors.

Just to round it all out, here are the photos we submitted. We thought about which photos to submit to show the judges what we’re all about.

We submitted a photo of us on a road ride on our tandem bike. We LOVE our tandem bike, and we thought this shows that we go on long rides, and it shows off our trek 🙂

We submitted a photo of us from an adventure race in Charlotte. Adventure racing requires us to work together, think on our toes, and communicate clearly to achieve a common goal.

We submitted a photo of us from Grandfather Mountain. We wanted to to show the hike we wrote about.

We submitted a photo of us from Elk Knob State Park this past November. We chose this because you can see icicles in Andrew’s mustache, so it shows we are up for anything no matter the weather!

We submitted a photo from one of the partner yoga clinics we went to in Charlotte. We think this shows our personality, and sets us apart from the rest of the field.

And here is the video:

We certainly think we’re #DrivenByAdventure! Winners will be announced May 1, and we’ll keep you updated. Wish us luck!

One of the things that makes the Mountains-to-Sea Trail unique is that it is still being developed. Each year, Friends of the MST adds several miles of trail to move the route off back roads. Because we had to delay the hike by a year, we had to look at the changes to the route and re-work part of our itinerary. Just like last year, we’ll post our itinerary in sections.

The MST was originally divided into 38 sections by Allen de Hart, the brains behind the trail. The FMST is still using these sections to describe the trail. The sections average out to around 27 miles each, although they aren’t all the same length. The route from Clingmans Dome to the Folk Art Center in Asheville, NC covers sections 1-7. This route has 2 options. We’re opting for the southern route (the black line on the map) along the Tuckaseegee River because this is the route FMST would like the MST to take eventually. This plan is exactly that – a plan. It is important for us to be flexible along the way when something inevitable happens that we aren’t expecting.

So, here is the itinerary for the first 7 sections (Clingmans Dome to Folk Art Center in Asheville, 134 miles):

Friday September 18, 2015 – Day 1 (10.72 miles)

Begin hike at Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP)

Camp at GSMNP Camp #54

Saturday September 19, 2015 – Day 2 (9.38 miles)

Camp at Deep Creek Campground

Sunday September 20, 2015 – Day 3 (13.9 miles)

Leave GSMNP

Camp at Tuckaseegee Outfitters in Whittier, NC

Monday September 21, 2015 – Day 4 (10.1 miles)

Pass through Dillsboro and Sylva, Resupply #1

Camp at Pinnacle Park, Sylva, NC

Tuesday September 22, 2015 – Day 5 (20.36 miles)

Enter Nantahala National Forest

Camp at National Forest campsite (1st site in Nantahala National Forest)

Wednesday September 23, 2015 – Day 6 (17.42 miles)

Enter Pisgah National Forest and Middle Prong Wilderness

Camp at National Forest campsite (3rd site in Middle Prong Wilderness)

Hey y’all! So this was my first holiday season as a retail manager. It was CRAZY! Now that the holidays are over, and we have recovered, we have some more time for training and planning!

So let me catch you up on the last few months:

I took a group of girls from work on a 1-night backpacking trip back in November. We headed down to the Neusiok Trail in Croatan National Forest – an easy 20 mile trail in Coastal NC. It was my first time to this trail, and I appreciated having that first visit be not during the buggy season. This was a first ever backpacking trip for several girls, so it was great to see them learn to love the trail as much as I do!

We’ve set the new start date for our thru-hike… Friday September 18, 2015. Hard to believe its just 6 months away! We’ve been looking at the new guidebooks produced by Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail, trying to finalize our itinerary. There have been some changes to the route through the Raleigh-Durham area, so we have to account for that. But it shouldn’t affect our timeline too much!

Andrew took me snowboarding for the first time back in February. It was alright, very windy and very snowy. I injured my knee in one of my many falls, and have been taking it easy in the training. Last week I was able to start running again, and I picked up a pair of higher cushioned running shoes to take away some of the impact on my knee.

Andrew has also had his first triathlon of the season. He did very well – his fastest swim and run times yet in a triathlon! We’re both very excited for the upcoming season!